Photoshop Elements /
Toning B&W Photographs /
2 - Color Variations Method
(And Split Toning)
Be sure to check off as you go along.
If you haven't already done so, do the
Preparation described in
the first section.
Toning
1) Select the
Background copy layer or the composite layer (see
Preparation).
2) Go to Enhance
> Adjust Color > Color Variations.
Click the colored
thumbnails to choose the color.
To tone with sepia, click Increase Red and click Decrease Blue.
Modify the Color
To increase the amount of a color, click the color again.
To decrease the amount of a color, click the color's Decrease
thumbnail.
To change the color strength, use the Adjust Color slider.
Cyan, Magenta, & Yellow
There are no buttons for cyan, magenta, or yellow.
Do the following to change these colors:
To add cyan, click Decrease Red.
To subtract cyan, click Increase Red.
To add magenta, click Decrease Green.
To subtract magenta, click Increase Green.
To add yellow, click Decrease Blue.
To subtract yellow, click Increase Blue.
Undo, Redo, & Reset
Click Undo once, or multiple times, to undo changes.
After undoing a change, click Redo once or multiple times for
each change you want to redo.
Click Reset Image, or click the Before image, to return to the
original photograph.
Original
Clicked Increase Red & Decrease Blue (Midtones)
The Color Variations window has a section in which you can select
where the color change will be made: Midtones, Shadows, or Highlights.
In the example below, Midtones was
selected, and a sepia tone was added.
The sofa and trees were sepia toned more because their pixels
are in the midtone range.
The shadows and snow (highlights) were not toned as much.
Sepia:
Clicked Increase Red & Decrease Blue (Midtones)
Next Highlights was selected.
Three clicks of blue were added to the snow, the highlights.
Split Toning with Sepia & Blue:
Clicked Increase Red & Clicked Decrease Blue (Midtones)
Clicked Increase Blue 3 Times (Highlights)
Saving the Photograph
If you haven't already done so, go to
Saving Files.
